


Wicked hearts have sweetest smiles

by VarLathVirSuledin



Category: Code Geass
Genre: F/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-01
Updated: 2016-10-02
Packaged: 2018-08-18 21:21:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8176493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VarLathVirSuledin/pseuds/VarLathVirSuledin
Summary: Kanon Maldini's death implies that second prince Schneizel el Britannia gets a new subordinate. Aveline la Croix has the honor to serve him but actually really has no idea what will happen...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Always happy to receive comments! :)

Kanon Maldini, right hand and the most treasured substitute of second prince and Prime Minister Schneizel el Britannia was dead. Assassinated by a traitor within their own ranks who also managed to escape after the murder. Now the burden to replace that loyal servant and stand at the prince’s side fell on her. She stood in front of the minister’s room, nervous and uneasy because it was the first time she met him. She had heard a lot of him though. That he was handsome, blonde with blue – violet eyes and the most enchanting smile of all the royal brothers. Cunning with high intelligence, not easy to look through, deciding wisely to not reveal his true intentions or the nature of his character. Always wearing a mask, to put it simply. After his father Charles zi Britannia, he was one of the mightiest men in this entire world, one of those who pulled the strings behind the scenes.  
The door opened and mentioned prince stepped out with a kind smile that flattered his lips. “Ah, so you are my new assistant, I take it?” She blushed lightly when he stared into her eyes, but then bowed in an instant and introduced herself. “My name is Aveline la Croix and it is a great honour to get to know you, prince Schneizel.” “The pleasure is all mine, Miss la Croix. Please, this way.” With this words he started moving along the bright corridor and she followed him without hesitating. “Your highness?” “Yes?” She waited a bit so that he interrupted walking. “Miss la Croix?” He raised his eyebrow in expectation. “I just wanted to say that I am…deeply sorry for your loss. If there is anything I can do please let me know immediately.” Aveline expected to see at least a bit of sadness or heartsickness but there was no such thing. His face still had a calm and kind expression as if it had not changed in the last few minutes. “Thank you very much for your sympathy.” He gave her a little smile and continued going.  
The first day had exhausted her and she felt very dizzy when she finally arrived at her room in the servant’s quarters. She had set up several appointments for prince Schneizel, attended some meetings with officers of high rank and also joined him when having lunch with the princesses Cornelia and Euphemia li Britannia. It felt so strange to sit with members of the royal family and listen to their talk while eating food she normally never had access to. Not that she was poor or anything similar, but those plates were so exotic that it would be pure luck to find them in a common store in the Britannian Empire. She sighed as she sat down on the bed and put aside some strands of her shiny, brown hair by driving through it with one hand. Aveline was happy and more than thankful to serve such a noble and eminently respectable man like prince Schneizel but she also had that odd feeling in her chest that tried to pull her down. That strange presentiment which, now that she found work that seemed to satisfy her, someone or something would try to steal it from her. Maybe she did not even deserve this? She shook her head in anger over herself and laid back. She was not a noble in particular but her family was seen as worthy to operate with the royal members of the empire. Her mother who had died many years ago had been a reputable tailoress. She had been much appreciated by all of the royal family until the day she lost her life when she got shot by an eleven in a terrible accident. Aveline had missed her ever since, for her father had never really cared for her. He was a common man with no special skill and an ordinary job. In some moments, when Aveline was truly honest to herself she admitted that she somehow hated him. The only thing he knew about were the knightmare frames she always had admired since being a young girl. Possessing one and leading wars on the field of combat was a secret desire of her. Again she sighed shortly and went through the meetings and appointments she had tomorrow. A ball was meant to be held within the next days to celebrate the knight ship of Suzaku Kururugi, who had been elected to serve for the young princess Euphemia. So much to do in so little time, in addition she also had to find a date for his highness to accompany him to the festivity. He hadn’t spoken with Aveline about that yet and so she was unable to plan something or even search for a girl that matched his taste. After some minutes of going through possible attendances, weariness overcame here without warning and let her glide into a dreamless sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

The following day came quick and it was almost noon when Aveline found herself at the desk, holding her face in her hands while staring motionless on the list before her. Until now the only thing she had done was receiving acceptances or refusals for the ball and calling those nobles who hadn’t given either of it yet. It was a dull work which required no skill at all but it still drained her energy as if she had run the whole morning. “Miss la Croix, why don’t you interrupt the task at hand and take a little break? You have been working since before sunrise and I am sure a small rest won’t do any harm.” Prince Schneizel, who sat in the same office as she did, glanced at her with an honestly caring smile, rose up to his feet and came over to her. “You could take a walk in the garden. It still is quite warm for this time of the year and some fresh air would do you good, I assure you.” Her cheeks turned rosy in an instant, for she still considered his treatment as highly noble and very uncommon for someone of his reputation and rank. “It is very kind of you, your highness, but as I understood is this event of much importance and I do not intend to delay anything if it is not absolutely necessary.” She answered, trying to impress and operate dutifully and firmly. For a split second there was a hint of surprise in his face but it vanished as fast as it had come. He had not expected her to be as duteous as her predecessor Kanon Maldini. He tilted his head with an even brighter smile and said:” And what if I accompany you? Still a no?” She opened her mouth to respond something but all that originated from it was dumbfounded stuttering. He supressed a giggle and waited patiently for her reply. “I… it would be a great honour for me, your highness. I could never refuse such an offer.” They took a leave and only minutes later they walked along a small path in the bright blooming garden. Red and white roses entwined around the slim pillars of the paths canopy, luminous sunshine heated up the air while the chilly breeze cooled it down again.(…) “It really is beautiful. Thank you for leading me here, your highness.” “There is no need to. Besides…I even had to use all my persuasion skills on you to join me”, he said jokingly and gave her another warm smile. She giggled shyly and hoped that he didn’t notice her ongoing nervousness. Aveline usually was not the type of woman to get excited quickly but prince Schneizel was after all an important member of the royal family, as well as he was highly attractive and she couldn’t allow herself to be unprofessional when around him. “Anyway, tell me, Miss la Croix, what do you think about my sisters choice of giving knighthood to Suzaku Kururugi?” “I-I do not think I am in the position to…” “Don’t you worry, this conversation will of course stay between the two of us”, he interrupted and winked at her. “Well… he is ace pilot and one of the best soldiers at the time being. No one knows better how to operate with knightmare frames than private Kururugi. He is an honourable man, extremely kind and, as far as I know, above the ordinary loyal. In addition, he also is Japanese. This fact greatly serves the empire to keep the impression of representing unity between the Japanese and the Britannian.” She ended and held her breath, not daring to look at the prince. He had asked her to speak the truth but she had been a bit bold. “Thank you for giving me your honest opinion in this matter. I can only agree. Her choice may have been precipitant but it indeed does a huge service to the empire.” Aveline let out a silent sigh of relief. For a few minutes they just walked without losing any words, solely relishing the sunlight caressing their skin. “Do we have any crucial task today that still is outstanding?” “Um…” She took out the small calendar she always had with her and flew over the huge amount of meetings. “Yes, there is indeed an issue that is quite urgent and has to be attended without delay in less than two hours.” “What is it?” “We are gathering with Earl Lloyd Asplund to discuss the advanced knightmare frames. He sounded quite desperate when he asked for this get-together.” The prince let his delicate, slim fingers glide through a few strands of his subtle, blonde hair as if he was thinking about something. “Fair enough. We should head back to the office then, for I still have a lot of paperwork that awaits me.” “Of course, right away.” They turned around and went back the same way they had come from. Suddenly the phone in his pocket rang and he answered without hesitation. “Yes?” His voice returned to its usual objective and rather cold tone. “Of course, I understand. I will be there within a minute.” He put the phone back into his pocket and looked at her again. “My apologies, but I am needed to issue a statement, for my father is absent and cannot handle this affair right now.” “Of course, your highness, I will return to my desk in the meantime.” She bowed briefly and watched him turn around. “Oh, your highness, one more thing. I need to know who you prefer as a companion for the ball.” “You of course”, he answered as if taken for granted. “W-what?”, she stuttered. “Who could be a better companion than my lovely secretary?” Prince Schneizel uncovered his brilliant white teeth, nodded to give point to his words and disappeared within the huge building. Aveline stood there, with her eyes wide open, as if she had seen a ghost. Her heart was racing and she had to lean against the wall for a few moments to evade the upcoming faint. Did she get that right? SHE should be his attendance at the grand evening? Why her of all the human beings wandering this world? This made no sense, the prince could have chosen everyone of high rank, princesses, even queens of foreign countries but he selected her? What would the rest of the imperial family say? And the guests? Aveline breathed deeply and returned to the office with trembling legs and a foreign, light feeling within her chest. The rest of the day passed by as if it was not real or somehow imaginary. This tingling inside her did not stop and made her fussy so that she almost forgot the meeting with Lloyd Asplund. “I am very sorry for my late arrival, your highness”, she said breathlessly, when she finished running down the corridor, with several folders in her hands, small strands falling out of her hair, that was tied up with a dark barrette. Lloyd Asplund looked at her carelessly with his arms crossed, seeming hectically and annoyed in some way, while prince Schneizel was himself all along, distorting his lips into an indulgent and benignant simper. “It’s fine, Miss la Croix, we also just arrived here. Now then, do you intend to tell us what you have found?” The prince watched the other man beside him in expectation. “Of course.” The earl began to walk down the wide and endless appearing hallway that led to the technical laboratory where prototypes of knightmare frames and their further enhancement got explored. “We tried out the Hadron cannon as you wanted, your highness, but the test was merely successful. Quite the opposite. We already lost a man when the knightmare frame exploded and half of its parts nearly hit us in the face.” He made a short break, stroke through his hair that had the same colour as pure ice. “We tried to solve that problem of course but we had obviously no success in doing so.” The three of them now stood in front of one of those battle machines. “Impressive”, Aveline murmured, as she had seen them only on television but never first hand. “We even intended to lower the power of the Hadron cannon itself in order to make it work but that failed as well.” “And what if the cube inside the Core Luminous is not strong enough to bear such an amount of energy at one time?” Aveline asked, deepened in her own thoughts but then was shocked in an instant as she realized that she had spoken out of turn and without permission. She immediately kneeled down before the prince and the earl. “Forgive me, your highness! I was not allowed to speak, especially not in such a doubting tune and assuming that I could add something useful to this conversation. I sorely regret my rudeness and I will accept any punishment you decree.” “Nonsense”, the prince disposed and offered her his hand. She was irritated by his ongoing kindness, although she clearly had a made a mistake, as well as by the gesture itself but after hesitating for a few seconds she took it to get back onto her feet. Lloyd Asplunds face, who had been staring at her without expression, lightened up and he all of a sudden seemed to be in high spirits. “How could we not think of that? Oh dear, it was so obvious!” “What is it?” “Your fellow assistant is right, much to my astonishment.” “Aveline shook her head in misbelief but prince Schneizel still was serious when he demanded:” Please, explain yourself.” “Well, when we developed the Hadron cannon we took the most advanced technology to create it but we did not change anything about the components of the cube inside the Sakuradite device. The material it contains is too weak to master such an immense force like the Hadron.” The earl promptly rushed to one of the many desks that stood in the middle of the room and started to take notes in enormous speed. “If I am able to replace this fragment with another then it should be possible..”, he muttered, clearly not paying attention to the prince or his assistant anymore. “Well, we should leave him to his work then, shall we?” She nodded silently and followed him. “Where did you learn about the knightmare frames, Miss la Croix? I was quite amazed by your knowledge and how you discovered the main problem so swiftly.” A surprised yet also intrigued tone resonated with his gentle and consistent voice. “Well… my father knows a bit about this kind of technology and he used to teach me when I was a young girl. I have always been highly interested, to be honest. But it was just a guess that the main dysfunction lies within the cube.” “Still it was very good that you spoke your mind, Miss la Croix. It is a feature I admire about you, among many other things.” A light red colour again laid upon her cheeks and she automatically turned her gaze to the floor, as a sign of subservience and simple gratefulness. “You flatter me, your highness, I am hardly…” “I will not accept a word of denial about that.” His facial expression still was friendly but his voice demanded obedience. “Forgive me, your highness, I will not speak against your predication again, I swear.” “Very well.” “Your highness, may I ask a question?” “Go ahead.” Aveline fumbled for words, still gaping insistently at the cold, grey floor beneath her black high heeled shoes that made a clacking sound each time they encountered the ground. “W-why do you want me to attend the grand ball with you? Please, do not get this wrong, there is no greater privilege for me than this, but you could have chosen all those beautiful, dignified and titled mistresses instead.” She had been curious about his answer since he had told her about his intention. He looked down on her, small wrinkles appeared in the corners of his rolling lips and he chuckled in amusement. Aveline took offence by this act and felt fiercely heat crawling up her face which made her ears and jowls turn scarlet. “There is no need to make a fool out of me”, she protested contritely and curled her lips into a pout. “Oh, please, do not misunderstand me. I never intended to bait you like this, it just so happened that I…” he began but got disrupted by firm, approximating footsteps. “Schneizel.” Princess’ Cornelia magenta coloured hair swaying sinuously with each pace, while her purple eyes were solely focusing on her half-brother. “Cornelia, what a delight to meet you. How can I be an assistance?” “We have no time for pleasantries. The Chinese Federation denied the conditions of our treaties and declared war on us less than an hour ago. We have to anticipate that their attack will follow as soon as possible.” “I don’t see how I could be of any aid?” “The Glaston knights are still standing by in the homeland, that means my troops are less in number and in addition lack a great deal of attack damage as well. Please, we can discuss this on the way to the other high ranking officers.” By the way the princess spoke, even Aveline could hear that it was a serious situation and that it should be handled at once. “We should be off then. Miss la Croix, please tell our sister Euphemia that we are unable to support her with the preparations right now.” Certainly, your highness, I will instruct her right away.” She took a bow and watched the two siblings stride away until they completely vanished in the darkness of the corridor. Aveline started walking into the opposite direction on the shortest way to princess Euphemia. She somehow felt incredibly worried. Princess Cornelia was not only viceroy of Area 18 and an excellent strategist like her brother Schneizel, she also possessed the rank as Chief General of the Imperial Army and furthermore was extremely skilled in knightmare frame combat. As far as Aveline had heard, she was a great duellist but lacked mastery in handling human emotions. She hardly ever let someone look behind her façade but a few minutes ago, Cornelia had seemed very unnerved and considerate. Both those emotions very unusual for her, wearing the title “Goddess of Victory” within the ranks of her fellow soldiers and never showing any sign of falter. This declaration of war must have been a threat to the empire indeed, else she could not explain the princesses’ reaction.


	3. Chapter 3

The door to Euphemias room was ajar and Aveline knocked against it only slightly. The angelic, naïve-seeming face of the princess turned up in the framing, smiling cheerfully and unburdened. “Uhh, Aveline, right?” “Yes, Milady. I am here to bring news from his highness prince Schneizel. He and your sister are incapable of assisting you with arrangements because of an urgent concern that came up.” Euphemias mien darkened within a second and she now appeared to be rather mortified. “And who will help me with the dress now?”, she asked and pouted. Aveline was unsettled. “Milady, if you allow, I could lend you a hand.” “Brilliant.” She grabbed her arm and pulled her into the room. It was huge, the floor was carpeted and the walls had the colour of light pink roses wetted with water drops that glimmered in the rising sun. That style was held through the entire place, everything except the furniture itself was kept in a rosy tint. “I am so excited about the prom, I can’t think of anything else! But I am so picky, I just don’t know which dress I should wear. At first I thought about a yellow one but let us be honest, it would not fit with my hair, then I ….” Euphemia babbled while browsing through the endless row of gowns hanging inside the wardrobe. She tried on several of those, chattering ceaselessly and sometimes spinning around jauntily in circles so that the trails of the dresses whirled around beautifully and lightly. “Milady?” Another girl, judging from the clothes she wore a lower servant, stood in the still opened door, not daring to lift her gaze and studying her toecaps. “The tea is ready to be served, milady. Shall I pour it out on the table in your accommodation or will you follow me to the dining room?” The princess tilted her head and laid a finger onto her under lip, pretending that she was reflecting intensely about this question. “Aveline, will you have some tea with me?”, she then asked. “It would be a delight, milady.” There was no other business she had to attend to anyway and Euphemia seemed to be a very kind and blitheful person. The maid placed the tray on the adamant surface, bowed briefly and left without a sound. She wanted to pour the hot, steaming liquid but the princess pre-empted her and took both cups out of her hands. “Let me do this.” “As you wish, milady.” “Please, stop being so formally. It is afflicting me that everyone acts so prim towards me, I am just a human like you as well. So let us dispense with formalities. I call you Aveline and you may call me Euphemia”, she said with her puerile sounding voice and gave her a benevolent smile. “Whatever pleases you, mil… uh.. Euphemia.” It made her feel weird to address a royal family member with her forename but she obeyed. They began to chat about the upcoming ball, the guests that should attend it and, much to Avelines surprise, the princess also spoke about her emotions towards Suzaku Kururugi. “It’s just that I feel so safe and unstrained when I am with him. It is a nice alternation to all those people who treat me like a princess because they have to. Suzaku does that because he really wants to do it, do you understand?” She sighed shortly and brushed strands of her long, pinkish hair out of her face and then took a sip of the cherry-flavoured tea. “Have you ever felt like this? Like being special to someone in such a way?” Avelines breath caught when an image of prince Schneizel emerged in front of her inner eye and she shook her head vehemently to get rid of this picture. “Uh, no, I… I never experienced anything like that”, she admitted and suddenly had this strange sentiment inside her chest again that tried to pull her mood down. “Aw, don’t look like that! I am sure you will find your jack of hearts soon as well!” Euphemia patted her hand and smiled encouraging. The expression in her face then suddenly changed from cheerful to puzzled when she continued:” I have to warn you about my brother though.” “Excuse me?” “I know he is very charming and brilliant in playing on words, but….” She looked to the side, trying to find the correct term for what she wanted to say. “He is not a kind man.” “W-what do you mean?” “Just…don’t trust him under any circumstances.” “But…” “Milady.” The same servant girl who brought the tea earlier again stood in the door frame, yet again examining the tips of her shoes. “Yes?” “Private Kururugi wishes to see you before he departs.” He departs? Where to?”, Euphemia asked with a choked voice and stared at the maid with her eyes wide open, then suddenly shook her head and continued:” Doesn’t matter now, take me to him immediately.” Afterwards she turned to Aveline. “Forgive me my rudeness but I really have to take a leave. I need to know where Suzaku is heading to.” “I understand.” She watched the princess step out of the room, leaving behind a slight trace of her bloomy, sweet perfume. Aveline still was confused. Why would Euphemia say something bad about her own brother? They seemed to be getting along unnaturally well back at the evening when they all had dinner together. This could not have converted in such a short amount of time. And also the way she said it, the expression in her eyes had been a mixture between sorrow and something else. Shame, perhaps? Aveline reflected the whole situation that had happened only minutes ago, but nothing she could think of made any sense. The princess’ behaviour had been inappropriate in her eyes and she now somehow felt offended by Euphemias act of whispering behind her brothers back. She picked up the folders, brought them back into the, at this time of the day, deserted office and returned to her room, where she almost instantly pulled out her clothes and threw them heedlessly onto the floor, then jumped under the hot shower which made her drowsy and sluggish. With wet hair and a head full of thoughts she finally laid down onto her bed and fell into an unsettled sleep.   
Only two days later the grand ball finally had approached and Aveline found herself in the chambers, with her shiny brown hair in curls, falling friskily into her face. She was extraordinary nervous and couldn’t expect prince Schneizel to come pick her up. Once more she took a look into the mirror, adjusted the lower part of her dark violet , bell-shaped dress that reached to the floor and decided then however to pin her hair up with a black barrette. The clock above her commode showed that it was exactly half past six when there was a single knock on the door. Aveline took a deep breath, laid the black camisole over her lower arm and opened slowly. “Good evening, Miss la Croix.” Prince Schneizels charming, even engaging smile was the first thing she could see and her heart began to beat incredibly fast in the moment their eyes met. She returned his look like magnetized, absorbing every little detail of his perfect shaped face to save it in her memory but then she picked up her courage again and dropped a slight curtsey. “Your highness. It is a great honour.” He offered her his arm and she took it without reluctance. “Are you nervous?”, the prince asked while both of them walked down one of the solemnly decorated hallways that led to the ballroom. “Yes extremely, if I am honest.” “Why?” “Well… I am afraid that the people might say something bad about the choice you have made…” She turned her gaze to the side, feeling ashamed and unworthy to visit a prom at the side of a second prince. “There is no need to worry. I will remain with you the entire evening and should anyone there give you a wry look, you will let me know in an instant, alright?” Aveline felt touched as well as comforted by the assuasive words the prince had spoken. “I… don’t know how I could ever thank you, your highness…” “I am sure we will find an opportunity”, he answered winking, while he gave her a rather cryptic smile which made her spine tingle. After some minutes they finally arrived at the huge, golden gate that led to the already crowded ball room. “Ready when you are, milady.” She blushed and nodded slightly, the two guards opened the heavy doors, while the announcer on the inside introduced them while entering. “His highness second prince and Prime Minister Schneizel el Britannia with his attendance Aveline la Croix.” It felt like everyone was staring at them whilst they walked along the sprawled, bordeaux carpet. Aveline could clearly sense foreign eyes examining not only her body movement but also how she was dressed and that only increased her insecurity so that she clung to the princes’ arm even tighter. She could hear all those noble women whispering with disparaging voices and all she wanted to do was run away, hole up in a dark corner and pity herself over her own demerit. “Don’t listen to them. The only thing emanating from them is bare enviousness”, Schneizel susurrated pliable and squeezed her hand briefly, cheering her up with this smile that overwhelmed her everytime anew and equipped her with a lot confidence. Aveline straightened up and now seemed a lot more proud while they both took the last steps along the padded surface. At the end of it, a merrily grinning princess Euphemia was already waiting to give the guests a warm welcome. Her dress was fuchsia coloured with glitter running along the edge of her petticoat which was widely flared. She looked beautiful and Aveline had never seen someone being happier than the princess. Her smile was pure, ingenuous even and smallest points of light were sparkling inside her blue eyes. Prince Schneizel took the hands of his sister, leaned in to her and kissed her on the cheek. “I am exceedingly happy for you, Euphie, congratulations.” “Thank you, Schneizel.” Then she turned to Aveline, first only watching her without changing the expression but then her smile even got brighter and she grabbed the princes’ assistant and pulled her into her arms for a short but intense embrace. “Milady, I could not be more blissful for you than I already am and I have to thank you for…” “No, it is I who has to be grateful. You helped me so much with preparations, the dress and also with lending me an ear when I really was in need of someone. This should be your special evening, not mine.” Aveline was stirred by her words, wanted to object but the tears gathering in the corners of her eyes left her speechless. Euphemia gave her a last warm gaze but then had to befriend the upcoming guests. The ball room was immense, heavy chandeliers were hanging from the light-coloured ceiling, all lower servants were dressed the same way, pacing around in circles and offering a prickling, sour liquid to the patrons. She always paid heed to not remove herself too far from his highness so she would not get lost in midst of so many people. While examining the area, Aveline discovered Lloyd Asplund on one of the countless sofas, leading a heated debate with a blue-haired girl. Only a few steps away stood princess Cornelia with her own knight Gilbert Guilford and was, very untypically for her, giggling like a young schoolgirl and playing with a loose strand of her hair that was bound together tightly. Aveline laughed silently over that sight and suddenly noticed that someone was approaching her from behind. “Your highness.” A turquoise haired man in a dark blue suit and a white cape kneeled before prince Schneizel. “Jeremiah, please, arise to your feet.” The man did what he was asked for and took a bow before the Prime Minister. “Who knew that we would meet again so soon?” “Indeed, your highness, but it is yet again a great honour.” The stranger now faced Aveline and she startled in the very same moment she encountered him. Luminous bright orange eyes examined her with blatant interest but the man did not intend to introduce himself. She had never seen anyone with such an uncommon eye colour but she now felt utterly stupid for getting frightened so easily. Before she could apologize however, the prince said:” Forgive me, where are my manners. This is Jeremiah Gottwald, an elite knightmare frame pilot and member of the Purist faction and yet also skilled when fighting without weapons. This lovely young woman to my right is Aveline la Croix, my personal assistant and most loyal subordinate.” She curtsied and bowed her head as sign of respect. “I am highly honoured to meet with someone of such deftness, milord.” “The pleasure is all mine, miss la Croix”, he replied with a slight grin, grasped her hand and adumbrated a kiss onto the back of it. Then the two men started a conversation about war and knights, tactics and advantages until the piercingly sound of a bell gave notice that the ceremony was about to begin. The room slowly got shaded until the two remaining spot lights laid themselves upon both the persons in the midst. Euphemia, seated on a throne-like armchair, which was placed on a platform that was several meters higher than the rest of the room itself, was one of those. The fact that she was towering above all the other people appeared to make her feel uneasy and diminished the radiant smile in her pretty face. The platform was connected to the floor by dint of a staircase emerging from the ground. On the first step Private Suzaku Kururugi was kneeling in front of his princess with a lowered head, stabilising himself with his hands pushing against the bare, cold ground. The choir Aveline had specifically flown in from Europe soared from the obscure area in the very next moment, just to gather at the end of the stairwell and they began to intone the anthem of the Holy Britannian Empire, accompanied by the fitting music that emanated from hardly visible loudspeakers. *Truth and hope in our fatherland and death to every foe…* “What a waste”, the man next to her groaned theatrically. Aveline squinted her eyes but was not able to identify him, his voice neither gave any hint of his sameness so she assumed that it was just a lower noble. Honestly, which royal family member would just start a conversation with a foreign woman standing next to him during a ceremony? She shook her head over this ridiculous assumption. “What do you mean, if I may ask?”, she wanted to know with a tad of lordliness underlining her voice. *Our soldiers shall not pause to rest, we vow our loyalty* “Why give knighthood to scum like an honorary Britannian, especially to a filthy eleven?”, he scoffed and laughed a sharp, cold and terribly arrogant laugh. “It sickens my heart to see this, poor Euphie must be so confused to choose such an unworthy individual.” Aveline knit her brows, slowly realizing that this man standing so close to her could under no circumstances be just one of the mere gentry. *Immortal beacon shows the way, step forth and seek glory* “How could Schneizel even allow this, he must have lost his mind…” “You should guard your tongue, Clovis. I won’t let you talk about our sister like this and should you intend to repeat that, I will have to speak a word with father about your future use in our wonderful Britannian Empire.” Second prince Schneizel positioned himself between them, still appearing rather kind but the tone in his voice advised caution, so that prince Clovis la Britannia backed off a bit and sneered presumptuously, evidently not paying deference to his elder brother. He then plunged into the sea of humans standing around in the large room. *Our emperor stands astride this world, he’ll vanquish every foe* “Alas…I wish Clovis would be able to act his age. He can be so immature when something does not suit him.” “Forgive me, your highness, if I had known that it was prince Clovis I was talking to, I would never have been spoken in such a tone.” “Oh, don’t mind that. Perhaps countering him with his own condescension teaches him to treat other human beings with the same amount of esteem he expects to be treated with.” After seeing Avelines still insecure expression he added grinningly:” But, between you and me, I seriously doubt that.” An unexpected chuckle escaped from her lips and she immediately held her hand before her mouth. “ *Hoist your swords high into the clouds, Hail Britannia!* The chorus ended and the entire hall was enwrapped in deep taciturnity again. It almost felt like everyone was holding their breath, prevenient and observant. Princess Euphemia, staggering a bit when arising from the heavy armchair, now squared her shoulders and in the very next moment the lights of the heavy chandeliers went on again. “Private Suzaku Kururugi, son of Japan’s latest Prime Minister Genbu Kururugi, ace pilot of the Special Core and Honorary Britannian. I hereby ask you…” She took a short break, only watching the man kneeling in front of her with an affectionate, little simper. “Will you vow your loyalty to me and furthermore to our beloved Britannian Empire?” “I will!” Suzaku Kururugi still was facing the floor and Aveline pitied him for remaining in such an uncomfortable position for such a long time. “Will you acknowledge me as your princess, performing your duties and putting my commands into execution?” “I will!” “And will you, should the time ever come, protect and shield me even if it means that you could lose your own life?” “I will!”, was his undelayed answer to the last question. “You shall arise to your feet now.” Suzaku Kururugi obeyed without a moment’s hesitation and thus revealed his face to the princess before him as well as to the guests standing all around. The resplendence in his eyes, clearly deriving from unfeigned pride (honor), mixed with his efforts to stand tautly and appear objective, induced a sense of emotion (rührung) inside the princess and she was hardly able to refrain herself from not embracing him , putting her arms around his neck with her hands gently touching his hair and finally kissing him softly. But instead of doing just that she cleared her throat and tried to withstand his glance. “I hereby grant you permission to call yourself a knight and hereafter every guard will address you as such.” She took a step into his direction, holding a white brooch, a sign of knighthood, between her fingers. Her hands shivered when she attached it to his suit, then scratching over it once more so it could shine brightly in the clear light. Her knight then took another deep bow, retained her hand and kissed it tenderly. Where before was silence there now were all the people applauding, lasting several minutes until princess Euphemia and Suzaku Kururugi stepped down from the platform, still smiling restrained but obviously blissful, almost like a newly-married couple. “Heart-warming, don’t you think, Miss la Croix?”, prince Schneizel stated when watching his younger sister striding through the crowd at the side of the man she admired so much. “Finding true love in the midst of such impermanent and troubling times surely is astonishing.” “Yes, indeed”, Aveline replied and sighed deep-drawn while she too peered after them. In that very moment her heart was craving for a companion, a lover, a soulmate. Someone she could rely on, a man who showed her what true love felt like, what mutual trust stands for, a partner that satisfied her desires and whose desires she wished to fulfil as well. “Oh? Why so sorrowful all of a sudden?” She winced at his apprehensive expression-he had averted his eyes from his sister and her knight- combined with the compassionate undertone that accompanied his voice. “I-it’s nothing, your highness, forgive me, I must have been lost in the corridors of my mind.” Embarrassed by getting caught in the middle of her daydreams she turned her head to the side so he was unable to see the blush crawling up her face. “Let’s see… maybe a dance will cheer you up.” He offered her his hand and even fleetingly indicated a curtsey. “Your highness!”, she gasped in surprise with her eyes wide open, staring puzzled at the prince, who wore a smile on his lips she simply could not classify. But it was of no matter anyway, HE, the second prince of the empire not only was willing to dance with her he also had dropped a curtsey albeit it had just been a small one. A bright grin spread on her slices and Aveline united her hand with his and let him lead her to the merely visited dance floor. Her heart began to race when he placed his fingers gently on her waist and pulled her a bit closer to himself. “I-I am not sure if I am actually able to dance at all”, she confessed and grinned embarrassed. Prince Schneizel laughed silently. “Just unwind yourself and let me guide you. I will take good care of you.” His hands held her tightly and his arms offered safety and shelter from the countless eyes that still observed her with judgmental gazes, the endless whispers infused with envy and hate. Avelines indisposition that had returned moments ago almost instantly dissolved when she felt his warm touch on her chilly skin, the mellow fabric of his gloves caressing it prudently, as if it was fragile or easy to wound. Prince Schneizel aimed to state something flattering, words that made the corners of her mouth lift up in joy and let her cheeks shine light rosy but got interrupted harshly. “Schneizel.” Clovis la Britannia’s’ boastful voice along with his raised eyebrows cut through the idyll of this beauteous moment. His highness sighed not audibly, put on a friendly smile and turned around to his brother. “Can I help you?” “Father wants to see you over video call”, was his snub answer. “You should not keep him waiting, should you?”, he added insolently after seeing the second prince hesitate for a few seconds. “You are right of course, dear brother. Milady…” He turned towards Aveline, an excusatory expression lying within his gaze. “I beg your pardon, but I cannot ignore this request.” “Your highness, please, there is no need to apologize at all! I will remain here and await your return in the meantime.” She bowed briefly and watched him walk away, followed by his impudent little brother. What a shame that their dance had to end so quickly, Aveline had felt absolutely comfortable and would have enjoyed to spend more time with him at this evening. She pouted for a second but then she decided to join Euphemia who, all by herself, stood aside the crowd, seeming lost and uncertain. The princess was more than grateful that someone befriended her and started to speak without pauses or commas but she was unable to focus on her anyway for she was busy throwing glances to the big golden door in anticipation of his highness. Euphie talked happily about the words her knight had whispered into her ear after the ceremony until Aveline suspended her flow of words. “I am sorry, milady, will you excuse me?” It was clear that she got the urge to seek out the restroom, so the princess, who sometimes was easily offended when getting interrupted, giggled like a little girl and shooed her jokingly.


	4. Chapter 4

The way to the restrooms led into the opposite direction of her own room, so her steps were unsettled for she had never been in that part of the huge palace before. Aveline even had to ask the guards in front of the ball room door where to go and she had felt really embarrassed about this. After all she was the personal assistant of an utterly important prince but she did not even know the layout of mentioned princes’ residence. Her body, especially her feet that were tucked into very high heeled strappy pumps which nobody could see because of the long dress, burned like hell and the bones in her back felt like they would crumble with each pace she made. The corridor seemed to be endlessly long but then took an abrupt cease after turning right at the end of the way. The ladies restroom was beautifully decorated, with white and pinkish lilies refurbishing it, velvet towels that were folded into swans and butterflies and a flavor of blooming flowers was laying in the air, simple and light. While washing her hands Aveline looked closely at her reflection in the drawn-out mirror above the sink. More than a few strands had loosened from her tied up hair, according her appearance a touch of chaos but also perniciousness. Her make up still was perfect although the rouge had gone off and had been replaced by the own redness of her cheeks. Her eyes and mouth grinned consistent with each other. After checking if she was alone-and indeed she was- she sighed loud and happily. The evening had been wonderful so far, Aveline could not have wished for more but a little voice inside her clearly begged to differ. Yes, yes, of course she desired more! More of this feeling the prince induced inside her chest, more of his warm and gentle touches on her chilly body, just more of…him. His lips upon hers, his fingers caressing her skin and his eyes peeking at her in order to devour every detail with their gaze. Alarmed by her own thoughts she shook her head vehemently and mumbled unintelligible curses to herself, grabbed the door handle and left. Lost in thought she started walking along cold stone tiles beneath her until she suddenly heard a yelp, paused and then harkened intensely. The restroom was too far away as if the scream could have emerged from it so the only other option was the door a few meters ahead of her on the left side. She frowned for she could not remember noticing the door a few minutes ago. The next moments passed by in complete silence, Aveline yet again shook her head. Her mind must have tricked her. But just as she was about to start moving, there was another shout. “Hello? Is anybody out there?!” It obviously came from the door on the left, this strangely familiar voice, limber and a bit coolish but Aveline did not recognize nor was she even able to say if it was male or female. “Please…I think my leg is broken, I really cannot stand up by myself.” Aveline had hesitated but now she almost jumped to the door, wanted to open it but it was stuck. “Uh, I am sorry but the handle won’t budge. Just wait while I go and get some help, ok?” “No!”, the voice cried out in panic and made Aveline cringe. “Don’t leave, I beg you! It’s so dark in here and I am afraid…” She felt terribly uncomfortable but she couldn’t tell why. Perhaps it was this voice, she had surely heard it before but whose face hid behind it? She swallowed the unease which attempted to lace up her throat and tried to push down the latch afresh. It did not work. “How did that happen?”, she asked to console the person on the other side. “Someone pushed me in here, right into the darkness… My leg hurts so much, please, hurry up.” Aveline repeated the action she did before but it still seemed as if someone would hold against it from the inside. “Are you sure there is no object…” In that moment the handle budged and after almost losing her balance, nearly falling onto the hard ground, she stumbled into the room. Not two seconds did pass, the door shut itself silently-of course she had not paid attention to it- two hands seemed to appear out of nowhere, dashing towards her rapidly. Her body got pressed against the perished wall which made breathing rather difficult. One hand was over her mouth, the other one pushed adamantly against her back. “My, my, what have we here? I was so sure you would not fall for that charade.” Aveline froze under the words the voice whispered mockingly into her ear, making her spine tingle from repugnance. She now had no difficulties to assign this cold, arrogant voice. “You should be honored… being the first chosen woman”, he murmured while shifting his weight so the rough surface of the wall scraped her left jowl that was pushed against it violently. Her eyes were open widely with tears sparkling and an expression full of despair and dread inside them. “Ngh…” “Nah, nah, nah, will you be tame?” The final attempt to release herself by squirming free miscarried and her muscles went limb under the pressure of Clovis’ heft. Although he possessed a rather slender, tall figure he nevertheless seemed to also hold extraordinary strength. “It is strange, don’t you think? After all these years of male subordinates he chooses you, an unimpressive, average female with no remarkable beauty nor any notable talents? No…” He grabbed her wrists, held them bound together with one hand, his body still locking her in between himself and the wall while his other hand reached down to the bottom of her dress. Aveline first knit her brows but then squinted her eyes when she realized what he was going to do. Her crying for help was smothered by the palm of his hand. “But the worst fact about my brothers fail pick is...”, he whispered in hear ear, slightly gasping. It undoubtedly cost him quite some of his strength to keep her struggling body under control. “That he does not want to share you “, Clovis susurrated deviously with his voice merely being perceptible. She could clearly feel his bare fingertips wandering along the inside of her thighs when he continued:” That is not very fair, don’t you agree, Miss la Croix? He is my brother and brothers share among one another, isn’t that correct?” A moment of silence passed when he, now sizzling and menacing, demanded an answer to his question. Aveline nodded hastily, tears running down her cheeks, over the foreign knuckles until they finally fell and dropped onto the floor. “Then tell me, Miss la Croix, why is he unwilling to share YOU?” She quivered under the flogging tune of his voice. Aveline did not have any idea what prince Clovis was talking about, nor did she want to know. Escape was her only thought but there were only few options, actually there was solely one idea she could come up with. Breathing deeply through her nose she suddenly stopped to resist and even managed to ignore the foreign hand on her lower region, attempting to crawl into her underwear, but the moment she quit struggling, he too paused in his movement. “Ah, finally accepting that opposition is in vain?”, he mocked and grinned disgustingly. Exploiting the slackening of his tight grasp Aveline pushed him away with a jar, grabbed the door handle and threw it open, not daring to look back, only running into the corridor, which’s dimmed lights still offered more safety than the room she had been in the last minutes. Tears blurred her sight as if they wanted her to fall down, there were no noises, and all she could hear was her own heartbeat pumping inside her ear. There was still no room in her mind to think about the events that had only happened moments ago, all she wished for was to run. Run away from that monster, which wore the face of prince Clovis until her legs would give in, everything spin around in her head and her body would eventually collapse. This plan however got quickly interrupted by a tall figure she bumped into. The rebound hit her hard and she could feel her arms flail in the empty air, desperately searching for hold. In expectation to thud on the rigid floor, Aveline closed her eyes, waiting for the pain to infiltrate her nerves, but all she was able to perceive were two hands preventing her from encountering the adamant ground. When she opened her eyes she was feared that prince Clovis had overtaken in order to finish what he had started. “Are you alright?” Prince Schneizels troubled voice seemed to come from very far away. Tears which had ceased running down her face yet again began to flow and Aveline wished nothing more than to answer, to explain, but she could not. Her lips were opened, ready to deliver words of this previous terrible occurrence but she was unable to. Instead she watched the second prince until her body ultimately gave in and a faint overcame her. “Miss la Croix? Miss… Aveline…”. The last thing she heard was his worried whisper before darkness embraced her and so forced her to rest.   
“I really cannot say when she is going to wake up or how her mental status will be. From what you told me-that she had been not responsive to anything you said- she may have experienced a psychic trauma, but this is just one possibility. As long as she is unconscious however, I really cannot state more about her condition. I am very sorry, your highness.” The doctor, who had checked her for the last hour curled his lips into a little encouraging smile, took a last look at the motionless body beneath the white satin sheets and then left the room without another word. Prince Schneizel stepped closer and gazed at his subordinate’s face who appeared to be even paler under this terribly light blanket. Her chest lifted and lowered inactively as if it was tired of this function, from time to time the eyes beneath her lids sprung back and forth rapidly whilst her small, fragile fingers shivered under the sight of the dreams she underwent. A worried expression still was adorning his face while he seized a chair and took a seat beside her bed to remain for a little bit longer. He examined her closely and was lost in such deep thoughts so that he did not realize that, after some minutes, her eyes opened and stared back at him without expression. “Your highness?” Her voice sounded hoarse and raspy as if she had not used it for days. “Why are you in my room? Is anything wrong? Are we under attack? Did something went wrong at the ceremony?” She asked in panic, starting up from the mattress in order to get onto her feet. “Shh, calm down”, the prince answered softly, laying his hands on her shoulders to let her glide back onto the bed gently. “We are not under attack nor did anything go wrong, don’t you worry. It actually is you who I worry about.” Aveline blushed immediately, cleared her throat, then tilted her head and gave him a questioning look, for she had no idea what he meant. “What do you remember from last night?” “Hmm… I remember the ceremony and how beautiful Euph… um, princess Euphemia in her dress was. Then…” She told him all she could recollect but no single reaction was strange or somehow inappropriate when she described what she had done or with whom she had spoken. “Forgive my curiosity but did something anomalous happen or why are my memories that important?” “Well, that is what I wanted to ask you.” The expression in her face changed from questioning to some sort of desperation. “I cannot follow you, your highness.” With a few words he explained how she had acted but no matter how much she desired to regain her memory, those pictures seemed to be lost within her mind forevermore. “Anyway, you are in need of some rest and the doctor has also requested that I send for him when you awake.” Aveline was laying there, only stared at the princes back uncomprehendingly while this one stepped quietly through the door. She then let out a deep-drawn sigh and leaned back. It was so strange what the prince had said. How could memories even be forgotten and was it possible to retrieve them? The thoughts inside her mind were buzzing around ceaselessly but she was unable to grasp at least one, so she decided to rest a bit more. She invested a final attempt to remember but all she could think of was the sound of Schneizels voice whispering her name like he did the evening before.  
The following days passed by quickly, the work had Aveline in its tight grasp, although the second prince had offered her to take some time off but she had refused vehemently yet determinant. Sitting around and do nothing surely would not help regaining her memories. It was a week after the ball when Aveline found herself once again at her desk with folders piling on it and her notes about them laying around scattered. “Did they at least mention a reason?” “Apparently, they refuse negotiations with only a third prince of the Britannian Empire, which is entirely ridiculous in my opinion.” Even before entering, Aveline could clearly hear Princess Cornelia and prince Schneizel coming along the corridor, Cornelia speaking in a contemptuous tone while Schneizel was as calm as ever. When stepping into the office, he gave Aveline a little smile, while his sister disregarded her by paying no attention to her at all. “Am I going right in the assumption that their intention is to lure both you and me to Japan?” “Preposterously they do, yes. They mock us, Schneizel and I won’t allow that. We should head straight for their fighting forces, if Clovis is to be believed they are positioned within the heart of area 11. We should…“ “Let us not rush anything. I am aware that you and your men have been outnumbered in the latest fight with the federation but you as well as they know that will be no match for the Glaston knights that are going to arrive at Area 11 within the next days. They obviously have no reason to trap us nor are they in the position to mock us. Why start a war without meaning when you can gain an ally without losing anything at all?” Schneizel stared at the second princess but not in expectation or waiting for her accordance but rather to make sure that he did not offend her. He knew his sister very well and so he also was aware of her lust for battles and combats but this was out of place right now. And as usual he was right, the viceroy of Area 18 did not seem to be very pleased about his words but instead of starting a huge discussion about it she just scoffed slightly and said with a patronizing tone underlining her firm voice:” Well, if you believe that this is the correct strategy to deal with them, then please, go ahead. But don’t expect me to confront them with a smile on my face.” Stating those words princess Cornelia pushed back her white cloak and left the room without spending further notice on her brother nor his secretary. The moment the door closed behind her Schneizel breathed acutely and put one of his blonde strands that has fallen into his forehead aside. “It seems like we are heading for Japan, Miss la Croix. I hope you are prepared for a little excursion?” “Are you absolutely sure you need me there, your highness? I don’t want to be a burden.” “Do you believe I intended to depart without my precious secretary?” He smirked and tilted his head a bit. Aveline returned his smile coyly while tearing off scraps of paper from one of the folders laying on her lap. “Providing that you are interested in seeing Japan.” “O-of course, your highness! It is an honor that I may join you. Will we be travelling by ship or airplane?” “We will fly.” “Is there any airline you prefer or shall I make reservations at a random one?” “Oh, we won’t need a plane nor an airline”, he answered with a big grin on his perfectly swung lips and stretched his hand towards her. “Come, I want to show you.”


	5. Chapter 5

“Oh…my…god…This is…” “Magnificent, isn’t it?” Prince Schneizel stood beside her, with his hands behind his back, smiling kindly at the construct in front of them. “I...I have never seen anything similar… what is this?” “This is the Avalon, a flying aircraft carrier and the first of its kind.” “Please, tell me more”, she murmured, still gazing at the huge airship right before her as if she was stunned. “Well, it uses a Float System for flight, which allows it to hover in place for an unlimited time period. It has a proud length of 200 meters and utilizes single 76mm gun mounting missiles for attack, as well as automatic machinegun turrets spread across the hull. Several knightmare frames can be hold on the inside, ever ready to be dropped into combat when necessary. In addition the carrier of course also possesses many quarters, conference and recreational rooms.” Avelines admiration for this piece of technology grew with each second she watched it. She never would have imagined to see something impressive as this in her entire life, the developers must have spent decades of trial and error! “And what about the defenses?” “It features Blaze Luminous Shielding which can be expanded around the whole Avalon.” “Astonishing…” “I would love to show you the inner setting but there are urgent matters I cannot delay under any circumstances, so I hope you can be patient and wait until tomorrow’s departure.” Her excitement diminished at once and induced an emotion of disappointment within her, but she swallowed that negative sensation and answered, attempting to sound normally:” Of course, your highness, I understand… I shall see it tomorrow then…” Prince Schneizel stepped in front of her and examined her closely, still wearing this staggering smile that took her breath away every time anew. The very next moment a high pitched tone penetrated this strangely magical moment between them and let her jowls turn scarlet. He drew out the phone of his pocket. “Yes? ...at once? Is there no other possibility? ….Yes, yes, I see. Very well, we will prepare in an instant.” Prince Schneizel put the small electronic tool away and yet again turned to his subordinate. “Seems like this is your lucky day. The Chinese Federation endurance appears to have expired. They expect our arrival as soon as possible, which means we will depart in less than half an hour. The Avalon as well as I will be at your disposal”, he stated, looked at her kindly and then sighed. “Now then, please head back to your quarters and get ready, I will await you on the Avalon.” With those words he turned around quite quickly and moved towards one of the many entries leading into the inside of the palace.   
When she came aboard the Avalon only 20 minutes later there was no second prince waiting for her in the ships lobby, she however met the princesses Cornelia and Euphemia who also traveled with them. Avelines bag dropped onto the floor and she too went down on her knees. “Miladys. It is a great honor that I am allowed to accompany you. If there is anything you need please let me know, I will be at your service at any time.” Princess Cornelia gave her a crushing look and scoffed, crossed her arms and turned away from Aveline, while her sister stared at her with outrage but did not dare say anything. The secretary felt very offended and hurt for she did not understand why the viceroy faced her with such rejection and hatred. Had she done something offensive? Or did she misbehave in some way? Perhaps Cornelia’s denial was connected with an incident in the night of the ball, an event she could not remember? The princess had never really met her with approval but she also had never been that aggressive. “I am happy to see you again, Aveline and I am thankful for your attendance”, Euphemia said cheerfully to get past this negatively charged situation. She smiled back at the younger sister and took a small bow. “Forgive my ignorance but where is prince Schneizel? He told me he would be here when I arrive, he wanted to…” “Foolish girl!” Cornelia jerked around, her eyes glistened with hate, her lips distorted into a despiteous grimace. “Were you actually inclined to believe he would have time to deal with someone of such inferior positon like yourself right now? Pathetic.” The last word was spit out as if it was poisonous. Aveline was so shocked, her heart was racing and there was a strange sensation growing inside her. “I…” “Silence!” With great steps she paced towards the seemingly rooted Aveline who still only watched her in surprise. “What entitles you to believe that you are something special? Do you think you are hold dear or that you are a person of significance?” Aveline tried to withstand the penetrating gaze of her opponent but she could not and gaped at the brown carpeted floor beneath her. “You are nothing”, Cornelia, now solely whispering with her firm voice, still fixed her eyes on her. “You are weak, no, even more than that, you are useless, your skills are inferior and you are not of value. You can be replaced at any time.” The emotion Aveline had tried to suppress now burst. Her eyes teared when she looked up again, saw that Euphemia only stood behind her sister, facing the floor to evade the situation anew. Why didn’t she say something? She could come at her defense, side with her but no… she did nothing like that. The anger mixed with the verbal injury she had encountered made her cry even more. “Now get out of my eyes!” Aveline winced, grabbed her bag and pressed it against her, then left through the door behind the younger princess, although she did not know where it led. Barely out of the frame had she slid down the wall, sobbing quietly. Normally she would have just stand above such insults, refusing to let them hurt her but the main reason why she was crying so badly was not the assault on herself, it was the fear that Princess Cornelia could be entirely correct. That’s what made her heart ache and bedeviled her breathing. Yes, yes, she was right about that, of course she had to be! After all, she was of such value and importance, a high ranked member of the Imperial family and also viceroy! But… all the time Aveline had spent with prince Schneizel, all the conversations they had held… did they really mean nothing to him? Had he deluded her so easily, and if, how cold- hearted was he to do such a cruel thing? She interrupted her crying, eventually realizing that the feeling she had developed for his highness was pointing into an obvious direction, one she simply could not ignore or change. No matter how much she longed to deny, that fact could not be turned away. She had fallen in love. She had admired Schneizel el Britannia from the very first moment and that admiration changed into affection with each word he spoke and each look he gave to her. But instead of enjoying that beautiful sensation, all she could feel was shame and disgust over herself. Although the indignation Cornelia had caused in her had vanished within a second as she thought of the kind smile of prince Schneizel a bitter aftertaste poisoned her mood. Aveline was not allowed to care about him, not because it was forbidden by law but because she herself could not permit that, it was unprofessional and… He would never feel the same way about her, that was for sure. But what if she was wrong? Maybe, just maybe, the prince did like her as much and had not tricked her? The tears ebbed over the detection of this little hope that started to spread inside her, and soon caused a slight prickling in her entire body. All she had to do was finding out whether she was right or wrong. She arose to her feet with a firm expression in her eyes, adjusted her clothes and made an oath to herself.  
It was past nine o clock in the evening when a quiet knock on the door woke Aveline up from her vivid imaginations. The searching for her room had consumed almost the entire afternoon for the airship was immensely huge. The Avalon featured so many quarters, a lower deck but also loads of machine rooms, in which she had stumbled quite some times. Luckily she had not met princess Cornelia again, that would have been a terrible disaster. Somnolently picking herself up, she did not even take a look into the mirror. Who important could it be at that time anyway? The viceroy had already made clear that his highness would have no time to deal with her, so why should she care about her appearance? “Aveline.” But indeed it was prince Schneizel in the doorframe who examined her with a searching look. She gasped in surprise, took a curtsey and realized then that she was tuck in her casual clothes, which were composed of skinny black pants and a red top with slim straps. Her face immediately adopted a pinkish tone and she was more than thankful that she had to stare at the floor and not into the princes eyes. “Y-your highness, I apologize.. had I known that you would come…” “There is no need to”, he interrupted her softly, offered her his hand and, after she accepted, helped her rising up again. He wore a serious expression mixed with a hint of worry. It made her feel uncomfortable when he stared at her like that, so she cleared her throat and avoided his gaze. “Euphemia told me about the incident with my other sister.” That terrible sentiment from earlier this day returned without hesitation, made her relive the whole situation again within seconds, until it nearly teared her up again. “I…I am deeply sorry, your highness… it has been my fault, I…” “No, it was not.” She gulped and eventually turned her gaze to him. “Cornelia had no right nor an indication to talk to you like that, no matter if she has the role of viceroy or whatsoever. In addition I also have to apologize for my late arrival, I promised to show you around but there were so many tasks at hand that I was unable to welcome you on my beautiful ship. Forgive me.” Baffled she looked at him. “B-but your highness! There is nothing you should be sorry for! I fully understand that matters about war are urgent and above all very delicate.” “Indeed they are. We will land in Japan tomorrow morning, my day will be quite stressful. I actually was inclined to believe that Euphie and you could visit the capital in my and Cornelia’s absence, but the situation there is too tense to leave the Avalon.” “Oh…well, that’s unfortunate…” Aveline couldn’t prevent herself from sounding disappointed. “Do not be too frustrated, Miss la Croix. As kind of a compensation I will show you something extraordinary tomorrow night. If you still want, of course.” “Y-yes, sure I want!” He smiled kindly. “Very well, I am glad that you accept my offer, I couldn’t sleep with the thought of you being mad on me.” The wink he gave her let her spine tingle and almost made her knees give in. “Please, don’t tease me…” “But I am sincere.” She watched him coyly, unsure whether to believe his words or not. “I would never lie to you, Aveline.” Hearing him say her name created a pleasant shudder and made her heart beat incredibly fast. “Anyway… it is late and tomorrow is going to be a rough day. Good night, Aveline.” “G-good night, your highness….” So many thoughts flashed through her mind, questions she wished to know the answers for but all she could do was staring after him until he completely disappeared within the darkness of the corridor.


	6. Chapter 6

“Come on, Aveline!” Euphemias blithe voice reached her ear while she dragged Aveline behind her. The morning sun shone intensely and dazzled her still weary eyes. It had not even been seven o’ clock in the morning when the young princess had tapped on her door, hyped up and full of anticipation. “I thought we were not allowed to leave the Avalon at all?” Euphemia giggled. “Yeah, that is correct, but my brother Clovis has a heart and provided me with some of his guards so that I am able to see a bit of Japan. First we will visit Narita Mountains and then the viceroy’s palace… and oh, we ought to see Clovisland and the Shinjuku ghetto…” “But Milady, Shinjuku is far too dangerous to stride around.” A guard that appeared from the left side dropped those words and now walked at the princess’ side. “I don’t care, that is why I have you and your comrades with me, right?” She answered with a wink and laughed happily. “Before I forget to mention, we will meet Clovis in the settlement at 12:30. He wants to invite us for lunch.” Right after hearing that an uneasy feeling crept over her and soon occupied her entire body. She just had no idea where this sentiment suddenly came from and why but it made her feel terribly uncomfortable. “Oh, don’t look like that! Clovis can be very amusing and kind and the last time I spoke to him he only had pleasant words to spare about you. That you are pretty and that you go extraordinary good with our brother Schneizel.” Instead of being flattered to hear that Aveline suddenly had the urge to turn around straight away and run back, onto the Avalon where she felt safe. Princess Euphemia ignored the worried expression on her face and led the way. They travelled far to see the mountains but it was definitely worth their time, Japan indeed was as breathtaking as she had come to believe. The morning went by immensely fast and so it was almost noon when they finally arrived at the Tokyo Settlement. The building they were in was huge and served as shopping center, was full of merchandise stores, clothes shops and different kind of restaurants, from Italian over Chinese to Moroccan. “Wow… I am curious in which kind of restaurant Clovis is going to take us. I so hope it won’t be a Britannian one.” Euphemia was still motivated, Aveline on the other hand was already tired and longed to return to the Avalon to see prince Schneizel. She also was inquisitive about what he wanted to show her at night. Of course she hoped that he would confess his love to her but Aveline was well aware that this would not happen in a thousand years. But hope is the last to die and so she promised herself to remain unsettled and wait until nightfall. Lost in thoughts she let out a deep-drawn sigh. “Something to worry about, Miss la Croix?” A terribly familiar voice let her drive around in discontent and when she saw that face, his face, this arrogant smile…she remembered everything. She instantly shied away, reeled and bumped into princess Euphemia who stood behind her. “I... am…. I am… excuse me…” With those stumbled words she rushed towards the restrooms. It was all empty and Aveline was thankful for that when she sat down on the floor in one of the cabins, with tears running down her face and memories torturing her mind. Clovis’ face had returned the memories that seemed to have been lost and they made her mind weak and the walls of her sanity crumble. His voice beneath her ear, his warm breath on her skin, his hands crawling into her clothes, trying to… Aveline cried out as if in pain, burying her vision into her palms and simply wept. “Aveline?” The princess’ seemed to have followed her almost immediately after her disappearance. She sobbed quietly. “Y-yes?” “Are you alright?” No, she was not alright, not at all. But she couldn’t tell Euphemia about it, for she would not believe it. Not a single person would believe her. He was a prince, a third prince no less, no one would think that someone of his rank could do such a thing. It would be her word against his and it was more than obvious who would leave as a winner of this battle. “I… I am fine, just give me two minutes, will you, please?” Euphemia seemed to hesitate. “Well… yes, certainly. I will be waiting outside then.” The door snapped in and gave sign that Aveline was again on her own. Now Clovis’ voice was in her head, repeating pieces of what he had said in that unfortunate night. But… she could not focus, not concentrate, she needed time on her own to remember everything. With a rough move her fingers wiped away the tears glittering on her cheeks. It was impossible to regain more of her lost memory here, so she had to wait until she got back on the aircraft carrier. The only thing she had to encounter before that was only… Clovis himself. She was afraid of him, her body started trembling when only thinking of him. But surely he would not harm her in public and as long as he thought her mental state was still the same that she was unable to retrieve her memento the prince would also not go in for something. At least that was her hope and all she could cling to. Breathing deeply she arose, closed her eyes for a moment and then left the restroom with quivering knees and a disgusting feeling inside her stomach. “Oh, you are back, I am glad. I hope all is well, Miss la Croix?” Aveline swallowed hard before she answered:” It is, your highness, please forgive me my absence.” He grinned at her deviously.   
“So you do not remember anything from that night, am I right in that assumption?” They now sat in a Japanese restaurant, waiting for the Sushi they had ordered. Clovis looked straight into her eyes, expecting that she would stand his gaze and Aveline indeed did. It cost her a lot of control to not burst out into tears but she was steady. “Yes, that is correct.” “It must be terrible”, said Euphemia and took a sip of her drink. “I mean, anything could have happened, even something very terrible and she would not remember…” Aveline’s eyes still were locked into Clovis’, but after hearing those words, tears started to collect in the corners. Luckily for her, the ordered food arrived in the very same moment so she could turn her gaze away and stare at the strange looking dish in front of her. “That sure looks interesting.” The princess examined it as well and took a smell at it. “Uah… well I hope it tastes better than it smells.” Then the three lapsed into silence and ate without leading another conversation. After finishing the dessert Clovis took word: “Oh, Euphie, by the way, I am really sorry but you will both have to return to the Avalon for the guards are needed somewhere else in the afternoon.” He wore an apologetic expression on his face and if Aveline wouldn’t knew him she would have seen a caring brother in him. “But.., you promised, Clovis!” He sighed and tilted his head. “I can’t change it, dear sister. But I am sure you and Miss la Croix will find a fitting activity on the Avalon.” He stood up from his chair, while Euphemia pouted, obviously not approving of the situation. “It’s time for me to leave now, Euphie, we will see each other later then.” Then he turned towards Aveline and his friendly smile turned into a malignant simper. “It was a pleasure meeting you again, Miss la Croix.” Inwardly she shuddered and again had the urge to run away but she just forced herself to smile back at him kindly. “It was an honor, your highness.” “And what about the bill?” Clovis looked at his sister frowningly, then lifted his right eyebrow and said, arrogant as he was:” I am third prince Clovis la Britannia and viceroy of this area. How do you come to believe I have to pay anything here?” With a smooth gesture he tossed his hair backwards, turned around and strutted away. Euphemias eyes followed him until he had left the building, then she suspired. “I don’t understand why he acts in such a presumptuous manner from time to time. He can be so very kind…” Aveline just remained silent. “What was wrong with you earlier, Aveline?” The secretary immediately felt caught and played nervously with her hands, frenetically searching for an excuse that did not sound too implausible. “Did you… did you fall in love with him?” She lifted her head extremely fast, staring at the princess in preposterousness and disbelief, hoping she had misunderstood the last sentence. “It is not uncommon, you know, I mean, he is very handsome indeed…” “No!” Aveline shouted with a trembling voice, her hands now clenched to fists which were also shaking heavily. “No, milady, no, that is not it at all…” She added, now in a calmer tone. This might have been her first and only chance to talk about that terrible experience she had to encounter at the ball’s evening. If she revealed it now, there was the possibility that Euphemia would go to her brother straight away and tell him about it and if that was about to happen… God alone knew what he would do to her… “It’s… Is prince Clovis returning with us to the homeland?” The princess looked at her in irritation. “Uhm, as far as I know he will have to stay until the entire bargaining of the treaty is over. Why is that of importance?” Aveline looked around nervously, sighed. “I… I will tell you when we arrive in Britannia, if you are still willing to listen then, until that day I would like to keep it a secret.” Euphemia did not seem to be very satisfied with her answer but understood that the matter must have been quite sensitive, so she agreed and they both left the center to return to the Avalon.


	7. Chapter 7

Dusk had approached some time ago, the sky was pitch black when Aveline looked out of the tapered window in her small chamber. Although Euphemia had wanted to spend the whole afternoon with her, she had to excuse herself nonetheless. The regained memories had stirred her up but had also encouraged her to dig deeper into her mind. What did Clovis say that night? What terrible words did he whisper into her ear while his hands were all over her body? With weary eyes she laid down on the sheets of her bed, breathing in deeply and concentrating on her thoughts once more. The situation inside her head changed, along with the atmosphere, the room itself. Again she could feel the cold wall scratching her cheek, tears burning inside her eyes and this foreign scent of a quite catchy, male perfume coming to her nose. “You should be honored…being the first chosen woman.” She winced when Clovis’ voice appeared crystal clear in her mind. “That he doesn’t want to share you.” A feeling of nausea overwhelmed her and forced her to stop mining in her memories, compelled her to get up and focus on something different. Avelines thoughts were clouded, could not be caught in any way and she now felt weak, her heart was beating far too slow and her sight was twisted, blurred. Suddenly a slight surge shattered the ground beneath her feet, made her falter. What was going on, an earthquake maybe? “Miss la Croix?” The voice on the other side of the door startled here for a moment but Aveline was well aware to who it belonged. The nausea she had experienced moments ago was instantly wiped out and before opening the door she flattened her clothes. “Good evening, your highness.” Another surge went through the Avalon. “Is that supposed to be normal, your highness?” Prince Schneizel smiled apologetically and answered:” The Avalon is usually not that loud when her engines get started, the mechanics must have encountered a small problem but that should not be our concern now, I promised you something, if I recall correctly?” His smile even got brighter and he now offered her his arm. Her heart fluttered and made her shiver languorously but she did not hesitate for one second. The floor beneath them vibrated, slightly though but perceptible. “Wait, did you say when her engines get started? Are we going somewhere?” Aveline asked, eventually realizing what he said moments ago. “No, we won’t.” Aveline was confused and looked at him with a questioning expression. He grinned mysteriously but remained silent, leading her up the broad, carpeted stairs. “How did the negotiations go?” She asked hectically, obviously trying to cover her nervousness. “Not as successful as we were inclined to believe at the beginning. Or rather less fast than expected. I am not quite sure what their goal is but they keep us here unnecessarily long.” “Do you believe their intentions are not sincere? That they plan something behind your back?” “That could be entirely possible indeed.” He answered with a bit of sorrow. The vibrating had stopped but Aveline could feel that the Avalon still was moving up. “And you had a nice afternoon with Euphie?” “Actually…no… I did not feel very good today so I had to excuse myself. She was not upset though.” “Oh, are you sick? Maybe we should return you to your room then?” “No! Really, there is no need to, I feel very fine now.” She smiled at him coyly as if to confirm her last statement. “Very well. Maybe it was the sushi you had in that Japanese restaurant? Clovis told me that he really enjoyed having you with him. I think he is starting to like you.” He said and winked at her. She immediately felt terrible and sick again but she compelled herself to stay calm, to ignore that upcoming panic inside her. “Y-yes, it indeed was very pleasant.” The prince looked at her closely, trying to read her face, the truth behind this inevitable lie but he did not see any doubt or uncertainty. The stairs ended and they found themselves in a long, white hallway. “Are we there?” “Almost, yes.” She could feel her heart beat loud and fast and for a second she was afraid he could hear it but the second prince still smiled as usual and led her along the way. At the end of the corridor there was another staircase, leading up high. “After you.” She took the first step with shivering knees, clinging to the handrail for the staircase was not wide enough for both to take it at the same time. After two more steps she could clearly examine a chilly wind, first only by hearing it, but then it embraced her softly and crawled under her clothes. She looked up and saw the night sky above her, excited about her view she took the last few paces rather fast until she finally stood on top of the Avalon. The air was cold and cooled down her burning hot cheeks, but she did not care about hot or cold, for all she could focus on was this sight. They were high above the ground, clouds surrounded them like an impervious blanket but when Aveline lifted her glance she could see that the night sky above her was crystal clear, the stars were shining so brightly as if they only did that for her. “I…” “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Prince Schneizel, standing right behind her, whispered in her ear. His body was so close to her, she could feel his warmth even through the fabric. How much she longed to lean back, back into his arms, his warm embrace… but instead she just answered:” I have never seen anything like it.” Suddenly Aveline could feel his hands on her arms, scratching up and down with light pressure, making her lean against his chest. “I…” “Shh…” So she was silent, huddling against him slightly, solely relishing being in his hug and the only one bearing witness was the lunate moon high up in the sky. Minutes had passed when his gentle voice retrieved her softly out of a trance-like condition. “I have prepared some wine for us. I hope you value a good Pinot Noir.” With those words he stepped away to get the two filled glasses. The cordial sensation vanished the moment he left and all that remained was a cold, bitter aftertaste. But it had felt so very good. Maybe Aveline had been right all along, maybe he really did care about her! Why would he cuddle with her if he would not care? She was in high spirits but she had to stay professional and keep cool. The second prince returned and endowed her with a chalice shaped glass containing a dark red liquid. “Now then. Let us drink to this wonderful night, shall we?” They clinked glasses and both took a tiny sip of the heavy wine. “Your highness… may I ask something?” “Of course!” He glanced at her with a tilted head. “Why did you bring me here?” She could not hold herself back, she had to know the answer, she had to know if he felt the same for her as she for him. “This is my way of saying thank you. You have been a great help since the day you started working for me and I wanted you to know that I am above the ordinary grateful and I hope that it will stay the same in the future.” This reply was like a hit right into the middle of her face, a dagger piercing her soul, her heart getting ripped out of her chest. She opened her mouth to respond, to show her gratitude but she was sure that she could not hide her disappointment. It did not matter for not a single word came over her lips. All she could do was to stare at him, motionless, but inside her there was only chaos, sadness and despair. Tears started to collect in her eyes and with a murmured apology she turned around, bit her lip to suppress a sobbing and started moving towards the staircase very fast. “Aveline.” The sound of his gentle voice ensnared her and her feet stopped automatically although her mind told her to move on, to leave this cursed place, where her heart had broken apart. She heard him approaching, closing in on her until she could sense his body directly behind her. “Aveline. Turn around.” He sounded calm, even bland but it was audible that it indeed was an order, she had to obey and so she did but with her eyes fixed onto the cold ground. “Look at me.” Squinting her eyes once more she then raised her view. “Tell me what’s wrong.” A tear rolled around her jowl when she started fumbling for words, did not find them and eventually just stayed quiet. Prince Schneizel looked at her patiently, minding not to chivvy her but Aveline felt agitated nonetheless while her brain was still searching frenetically for a fitting explanation. In a trace of panic she leaned forward and pressed her lips softly on his cheek. It felt right, wonderful but suddenly another emotion grew inside her and it overwhelmed her with such an intensity that she desisted from him, apologized and ran towards the staircase, down on the lower level and locked herself inside her room. What had she done?! Was she out of her mind?! That was unprofessional, she had known that all along and still she had managed to get into such a situation! She began to walk up and down in the small chamber, was torn apart between right and wrong, emotion and rationality. It was impossible to think straight, even when she was not around him. She should have restrained herself, should have resisted her urge to give him a kiss. What would the second prince think of her now? Would he hate her? Or even worse? Maybe he was so aghast that he was going to dismiss her?! Where should she go then?! Sheer terror was crawling up in her and laced up her throat, making her believe she would choke to death. She could not bear the thought of losing this position, this kind of life, this status…and above all Aveline could not bear losing the prince. Leaving his side, abandoned to never see him again was unthinkable. Lost in thoughts she did not notice the person that had appeared behind her a moment ago and when she turned around she bumped into that figure, rebounded and reeled back for a few meters. Deeply shocked she stared at prince Schneizel in front of her. “Your highness! I…” A pinkish tone colored her face when she continued. “I… there is no apology for what I did and… I can really understand if you are angry or upset, I will just pack my things and leave as soon as we arrive in Britannia again, once more I am very…” Aveline got interrupted in her flow of words when the prince laid his lips on hers and thus sealed them. At first she looked at him in disbelief but after seeing that his eyes were closed she did that as well and let her body glide into his welcoming embrace. He stroke over her back delicately, while his kiss made her relax visibly, let her become wax in his arms. The touch of his lips on her own, the sweet taste of them and the forbiddingly good odor emanating from his body was almost too much for her, it was more and better than anything she could have dreamed! She could have stayed like this forever, so close to the man she had admired since the moment they had met. When they separated from one another Schneizel looked at her again as usually and said in a businesslike manner:” I of course will not make you resign nor will I just send you away. But what just happened will not leave this room under any circumstances, is that understood, Miss la Croix?” Irritated by his spontaneous mood change she nodded obediently, what the prince immediately rewarded with a generous simper. No matter what he would have asked her to do she would have agreed to do anything, so entranced she was by his kiss, so happy about him responding to her emotions. “Now then, it has been an exhausting day for me after all, I am in need of some rest and I believe it has been an adventurous evening for you too.” His eyes grinned consistently with his mouth when he let his fingers wander over the side of her face for one last tender gesture. “I wish you pleasant dreams, Aveline.” Still nervous but utterly happy she wished him a good night as well and watched him step out of the door frame, leaving her alone with this huge amount of positive emotions and just as many thoughts. Long after the prince had left she was lying in bed, still unable to realize or believe what had happened between the two of them. She had been right and what satisfied her even more was that Cornelia had been wrong. Aveline still could feel his warm lips caressing her own, his presence still embracing her, his voice being liquid silk, lulling her gently into sleep. That night she would sleep like an angel atop of a cloud and dream of the most wonderful things, of that she was certain. And so it was.


	8. Chapter 8

On the next day, quite late in the afternoon the Avalon debarked almost without any surge on the landing field where she had hovered up 2 days ago. Everyone seemed to be exhausted, princess Euphemia sat on one of the many couches in the common room and read in a book, a romance novel if Aveline saw it correctly, her sister stood at the wide windows and stared out of them, probably longing to finally land and get back to her daily routine. Prince Schneizel was himself all along, standing there with a kind expression, his hands behind his back, patiently awaiting the auditive signal which would announce that they were allowed to leave the Avalon. The mood inside the room was strange, a mixture between tenseness and elatedness, a composition highly susceptible to explode rapidly. “Is that…?” Princess Cornelia starred intensely at the landing platform. Schneizel, first not paying too much attention now joined her side and looked through the pane of glass as well. “Father…” The second prince murmured in a low voice, not revealing if he was pleased or felt uncomfortable. “Why is he here?” Cornelia all of a sudden appeared to be very nervous and unnerved as well as somehow offended by the sighting she had made. “I have not the slightest idea.” Schneizel responded and then turned around smoothly. “His royal majesty is here, so I expect you to be above the ordinary obliging, Miss la Croix. You will not arise if not allowed, you will not reply unless asked and you will not oppose or speak against him in any matter, is that understood?” “Yes, your highness, of course.” Aveline tried to seem calm, professional and firm but she was just as nervous as Cornelia, only out of another reason. The Emperor himself was here at the royal palace, she would meet and see him in person! In her youth she often had watched his speeches and harangues over television, had always been impressed by his ambition and fervor, his choice of words and how he managed to perfectly use his deep, piercing voice. Now that she thought about it, was it really luck or coincidence that she had ended up serving the Imperial Family? Or, which she inclined to believe, has it always been her destiny? Maybe she got this fascination for them from her own mother? A shrill sound ended her consideration abruptly and when prince Schneizel started moving towards the exit she joined him, but first offering primacy to the princesses. Euphemia denied with a smile, she wanted to finish the last pages of the book now, and much to Avelines astonishment also Cornelia refused, not in a friendly manner but by far less aggressive than usual. SO Aveline left the Avalon right at the princes side, this fact greatly lifting her already good mood up even more. The automatic door of the carrier closed behind them and when she looked to the Palace’s gates she could now as well see the emperor. He was quite tall, even taller than Schneizel, his hair, once shining in a light brown, had turned white but still reached to the broad, masculine shoulders. Standing still and at attention, his firm gaze focused on the people moving towards him while the lower part of his cape blew in the wind. Aveline instantly was filled with reverence, the emperor indeed had a very strong, all-consuming aura although he had not yet spoken a word. “Your majesty.” The second prince went down on his right knee and bowed his head. The secretary did the same, waiting for the men to start a conversation. “Arise, Schneizel.” The emperor demanded, not changing the serious expression lying within his dark violet eyes. “Clovis?” “He is still at Area 11, negotiating about negligibilities.” “But the main negotiations are set, I presume?” “Of course, your majesty.” “Prepare conference, we shall inform the generals of this current situation and details before nightfall.” The prince bowed his head once more as a sign of obedience and then said, turned towards his subordinate:” Miss la Croix, this matter is urgent, see that it is taken care of without delay.” “Right away, your highness.” She left without even lifting her glance once, for she did not know if it was appropriate to do so or not. But his majesty surely had not paid any of his attention to her, why would he anyway? Being in his presence gave Aveline a very paradox feeling. On the one side she felt even smaller and less insignificant but on the other side she also felt more special, for she had been acknowledged worthy of dealing with his royal majesty. Paradox indeed.  
The sun had long been gone and replaced by the pale face of the moon when the meeting finally ended and the last people remaining in the conference room were his royal majesty, second prince Schneizel and his secretary Aveline. All high ranked generals and officers had been present, most of them being brainless men who would agree on everything as long as a royal family member had suggested it. Bootlickers, loyal but no real strategists among them. Aveline had of course been silent throughout the whole progress, had only listened and observed, on the one hand his highness, his kind expression that never changed, his patience that seemed to have no end, on the other hand the emperor, being fierce, sometimes brutally banging his fist onto the table when a general did not understand further instructions or was out of line. How could those two men, both impressive in their own way, be related? “Euphemia is doing well, I hope?” Charles zi Britannia asked business like as if he would talk about a task or thing of little importance while he leaned back on his seat. The two men must have changed topics while Aveline had been lost in thoughts. “If she is undutiful or in your way, I will order her back to Pendragon.” “No, father, it is not necessary at all. She is mostly staying with Cornelia and, since a few weeks she also spends a lot of time with my personal assistant.” He nodded towards Aveline, but the emperor solely glanced at her very shortly, not caring who this person was or what she did. “Why did Cornelia not attend tonight? That seems so out of character and was more than inappropriate.” This was the first time Aveline could hear a hint of emotion (that was not impatience or anger) inside the emperor’s harsh voice but she couldn’t really say what kind of sentiment it was. It sounded as if he was solicitous but why should he be? As far as she knew, his royal majesty did not care much about his children, their lives, deaths or behaviors. As long as they were useful to the empire, could be married or stationed as generals or knights, they were allowed to keep the claim on the throne. That was all that mattered, at least Aveline heard that and it was the common impression. Maybe she was wrong, maybe he loved his children but was just unable to show it? Or maybe, which sounded more reasonable, she just was tired of this long day and had completely misinterpreted. Yes, that must have been it. “Yes, of course, father, I will get the documents right away.” Schneizel stood up, gave his subordinate a little smile and rushed towards the great exit door of the conference room, leaving her with this…man. Aveline felt extremely uncomfortable, she wanted to say something, anything, but what in god’s name could she have said to impress him? “I heard you were a great help dealing with the Hadron cannon.” She swallowed hard, did not raise her view when she answered with a trembling voice:” Merely, your majesty, I was just lucky.” “False modesty… I see.” She was outraged about that. “That is an imputation…” She replied without thinking but then rapidly bit hear lip to avoid further speaking. Opposing his royal majesty… what was she doing? “Impertinent, disobedient and immodest, how bad my son has picked this time.” Hearing his majesty say such things infuriated her, made her jump from the cushioned bench she had sat on the last few hours. “I may be impertinent and maybe, just maybe not entirely modest, but…” She hissed through barely opened lips. “But, and his majesty may ask everyone around the palace, I obey every order, not only from his highness but also from his siblings.” The moment she ended she knew what a great mistake she had just made but… she couldn’t help it, she had to defend herself from false accusations. “How strange.” Charles voice was quiet, too quiet, when he arose slowly from his seating and took even slower steps towards her. Avelines heart pounded inside her chest. “According to my son Clovis, you did not obey him when he expected you to.” She stopped short and lifted her glance, looked at the emperor in irritation. What did he mean? She had never dealt with Clovis in any way, only at the day of the ball when… She widely opened her eyes when she finally understood what he was referring to. “You cannot be serious about that, your Majesty…He wanted to…” Charles zi Britannia came very close, her eyes were in breast height of his body. “It does not matter, foolish girl. He is a prince of Britannia and if you oppose him, you oppose me and in that case you also oppose Britannia itself. Do you have any idea what I do with people who oppose Britannia?” He did not even let her time to think and continued:” I let them hang from the gallows. Do you want that, girl?” “N-no, your majesty…” “Then I would advise you to be submissive in ANY kind of situation.” “Y…Yes, your majesty…” He scoffed silently and took a step back, amerced her with a superior gaze. “The file you wanted is right here, father.” In the very same moment prince Schneizel returned, carrying a huge folder on the inside of his arm. “Just put it on the table, then you are dismissed.” He did as asked whilst Aveline bowed deeply and wished his majesty a good night. “Schneizel, before you return to your quarters, send Cornelia to me.” With that being said they left without losing any more words. “I can go and tell the viceroy, your highness, I know it has been a long day for you and…” “That is very kind, Miss la Croix, but I have to refuse this time. You should get some rest yourself, tomorrow will be very exhausting, I assure you.” “As you wish, your highness.” When the wide corridor split in two, her whispered goodnight was answered with a soft touch on her arm and even softer smile. When walking with him she had successfully suppressed her shivering body but now, being on her own, her limbs started shaking again. What his majesty had said… how could he…he expected her to provide her body? Her stomach started revolting when a picture of Clovis taking what the emperor claimed was the royal family’s property anyway (her body) emerged in front of her eyes and so she sat down in the middle of the hallway to calm down. Aveline sat there for some time, reflecting what the emperor had said, but no matter how much she thought about and analyzed it, there was no sense for her in his words, no understanding in his motives. And why did Clovis even tell him? Was he seriously a spoiled prince who always would run to his father when he didn’t get what he wanted? In addition, why would the emperor let him do that?! Nothing made any sense at all. She got pulled out of her thoughts arduously when the echo of a voice reached her ear, speaking lowly but with a slight trace of panic. It seemed to emanate from where the corridors had split. In less than a second the uneasiness inside her was replaced with burning curiosity, begging to be sated. Aveline got onto her feet quickly. Should she really just follow the voice? Well, no one could forbid her to walk the palace, so she went back the same way she had come from, nevertheless trying to be as silent as possible. Her heart was beating faster with each step she took, the excitement inside her grew the nearer she came the fork. The voices (now they were two), first only blurry and unintelligible now could be understood, not very clearly but somehow at least. “Did he mention why he wants to see me so eagerly?” “Not in the slightest. You know father.” She would always immediately recognize that voice, his voice. “But I am sure it is just a formality. He was quite upset that you did not take part in the conference this evening.” “Formality.” Princess Cornelia scoffed and seemed to interrupt walking. Aveline, who was closing rather rapidly stopped abruptly, almost tripping over her own shoes. The emperor must have had urgent business, why else would he make his highness escort her to the conference room personally? Or maybe that was common among the imperial family. “You know exactly what he does” Cornelia jangled, trying to suppress the panic inside her firm voice. “Dear sister, I have no idea what you are talking about. Now come.” “Don’t touch me.” Footsteps now again began to cast out the silence in the corridor. Aveline waited for a minute and then followed up, attempting to stay in the shadows. After some more minutes the two siblings reached the room the conference had taken place in. The secretary had been clever enough to stay inside an obscured niche of the hallway, just in case, if prince Schneizel would take a leave after escorting his sister safely. And so it was, only a few seconds later he swept past her and disappeared in the blackness of night. She was nervous when she unhastily stepped out of the darkened slot and sneaked towards the heavy door that did not seemed to be closed properly. Through a small gap glowed glistening light, sometimes getting covered by a bright shadow. “You wanted to see me, father?” “You didn’t show up tonight. I assume you had a reason?” Charles asked sharply, his voice cold as an early winter’s morning. Princess Cornelia seemed to answer something but Aveline was too far away to fully understand it, so she decided to hide directly behind the conference room door. “Do you believe that this reason is a justified excuse to not partake in a meeting of such importance?” “I…” Avelines curiosity made her peek through the small gap, she wanted to see, not only to hear. “Yes I do.” The princess answered, sounding less than convinced about her own reply. “Ah, really? Well…” He drawled while starting to take slow paces, encircling her in a very slim radius. Cornelia cringed when his cape touched her leg and she had turned terribly pale within seconds. Her brows were slightly drawn together and the insides were lifted and with her visibly trembling hands which she tried to hide by clenching them into fists they were a clear sign of fear. Cornelia harrumphed audibly and spoke in an untypical low voice:” I…I am sorry…father…your majesty… I should have been present nonetheless…” The emperor who now stood directly behind his daughter all of a sudden grabbed her hair with one of his broad hands and pulled it hard so that Cornelia cried out in pain. “You want me to accept that joke of an apology? Then you should give me a great performance tonight, Cornelia!” “No…please father, not that…” “Silence!” Or would you rather have Euphie here instead of yourself?” The princess ripped her eyes open, the tears she had wanted to hold back now flew freely over her cheeks and landed partly on her clothing and on the floor. “No! No…not Euphie…” “Then I suggest that you behave nicely and obediently.” “Please...don’t…” Cornelia sobbed. Aveline, still at the same position, cowered there with her eyes wide open, hardly believing what she saw. What was he going to do to her?! Cornelia seemed so helpless, she had to aid her somehow, even If she did not like her! A sharp noise cut the silence of night and the chaos inside her mind. Charles zi Britannia had turned around and, disgusted by his daughters whining, had hit her into the face. This act immediately silenced her, no, even worse, it made her face lose any kind of emotion at all. Where terror and fear had reigned seconds ago was nothing left of those, all that remained was a hollow, empty expression within her eyes. Aveline avoided staring at this absurd scenery any longer, instead she desperately searched for an idea, a plan, anything. She looked down on her clothes, hoping to find an answer or at least something useful. And she did! The jacket she wore had buttons made of metal, not too large, but still big enough to produce a sound when thrown onto the floor. Maybe that would cross the plan of the emperor to harm his daughter any further. A miserable try, now that she started thinking about it but it was all she was able to do. After forcefully ripping a button off her own coat she arose quietly, threw it onto the floor and started running into the protective darkness of the corridor. “What was that?” Was the last thing she could hear and only minutes later she found herself in her room, panting hastily, gliding down onto the satin sheets on top of the soft mattress. Hopefully she had prevented the princess somehow or bought her time to escape her father’s grasp. This evening had been terrible, had exhausted and unsettled Aveline. Right after her heartbeat stabilized again she instantly fell asleep, fell into a nightmare, a bottomless abyss filled with blackness and despair, curiosity and unwanted knowledge, forbidden affection and suppressed emotions that had been created long ago.


	9. Chapter 9

The other desk in the office had been empty the whole morning, it saddened her heart when she did not see his highness, he was the one shining light amongst all this chaos and madness, both in the palace and in her mind. When she applied for this work she had thought of it as a steady and even job, no major difficulties, stress of course but what had happened in the short time she had stayed at the palace was overwhelming in a negative way. Blurry images dashed through her head: Clovis and his failed attempt at the grand evening, Cornelia’s strangely aggressive behavior towards her, the emperor’s harsh words… What was going on in this building, what curse circulated through the veins of the royal family to hurt other people or constantly remind them of their insignificance? This whole actions made no sense, they couldn’t be put together to one big image. All of them seemed so completely random, so spontaneously. Aveline sighed, wanted to focus on the files in front of her again but got interrupted in the very same moment by princess Cornelia who swept into the office, stopped abruptly when seeing her and almost not notably lowered her head, so that some of the violet strands fell gently into her face, there to hide the obvious, the bruises and marks the last night had left behind. The princess let her fist glide onto the desk, opened it with the inside showing to the surface. Aveline met her eyes and for the very first time there was no expression of denial lying in them. It was a look with hardly any emotion. The viceroy blinked once and then left without having anything said but the secretary already knew what this was about. She knew what Cornelia had returned. The silver glimmering button rested on the adamant bottom of the table. So the viceroy was also aware that Aveline had followed them as well as of her spying but what really upset her was the fact that Aveline now knew that the princess had not had any chance to escape her father last night. She had to endure what he did with her, and after seeing the bruises in her face… it must have been cruel. A part of Aveline felt really sorry for Cornelia, even pitied her. But the other, far greater part whispered something completely different. Deserved. “NO!” Aveline shouted and jumped from her chair, pressed her hands against her ears, trying to get rid of this wickedly hissing voice. She had to get out of here immediately or else she would go crazy, mad, insane. The weather outside was chilly but the sun was shining brightly on the grey colored horizon. It was almost like the garden, the red and white roses called for her, wanted her to bear witness of their beauty. Yes, yes, a little break would do her good for sure. If prince Schneizel came she still could explain that she had needed a break. The air had a harsh bite, almost like the frost at the sunrise on a cold December morning. The shafts of the sun were not strong enough to cast this cold out entirely but they were at least able to provide a tiny bit of warmth. Aveline stretched her head against the sky, relishing the light and temperature swings on her skin. She sat down on a wooden bench in the midst of blooming flowers, right at the end of the path she had walked on with prince Schneizel several days ago. It seemed like a long forgotten dream, a wishful thinking of a naïve girl but she had been lucky enough to experience exactly that. The unsettled thoughts that buzzed around in her mind aimlessly slowly vanished and got replaced with pictures of past events, memories of beautiful and everlasting moments. How prince Schneizel had held her, how he had touched her arms and body, caressed her lips. Those images were still so vivid, so alive as if they had happened a second ago. How would it be if she herself had been born royal? Would the second prince, going down on his knees on top of the Avalon or right here in this garden and ask for her hand in marriage? So that they could live together and did not need to make a secret out of their feelings like they had to now. A tempting thought but Aveline did not yet really care about this fact. Sharing a secret together was more exciting, she felt like being a special kind of treasure to his highness, like something he was not allowed to have. “Ah, there you are.” A shadow suddenly obscured the sun. “P-Prince Schneizel!” In a single bound she charged off the bench. “Forgive me, your highness but I needed a short interruption.” “Oh there is no need to justify yourself, I know how tiring this work can be from time to time.” His smile was pure sympathy but his voice sounded somehow uninvolved, even cold, it just did not fit well together. “I have only a short moment.” He stepped closer and let his slim fingers touch the inside of her hand, little but perceptible. A shiver went through her body, starting from the point where their skins had touched, over her shoulders, along her spine and straight into her legs. “I want you to join me in my room tomorrow night.” He whispered gently while leaning towards her. After some seconds in which she could make out what he just said and meant he returned to his normal behavior again. “That would be all. Now then, I have important business to head back to, so I won’t be in the office today.” The second prince tilted his head slightly as if reflecting intensely about something. “Ah, yes, before I forget, my brother Clovis will return from Area 11 tonight so please bid him welcome when he arrives. I unfortunately cannot do this myself.” “Yes of course, your highness.” Aveline answered obediently but not feeling comfortable at all about task. With a last benignant simper prince Schneizel turned around and stepped away, back to the palace. Something had been odd about him, about the way he had spoken too. Or perhaps she was just fooling herself and everything was ok?! Confusion now overshadowed everything else, Aveline was irritated, and she would not even be able to tell the difference between right or wrong in that moment. It was important to gain some knowledge, to enlighten the darkness, the secret that hid within the royal family. Obviously there was only one person she could turn to.   
“Oh, Aveline, how nice to see you!” The young princess Euphemia seemed positively surprised when she noticed the secretary in front of her door. “I was wondering when you would come visit me again. Please, come in.” Aveline nodded and entered. The scent inside the room was the same as last time, Euphemias perfume filled it into last corner. Pink roses were placed upon the commode and served as decoration along with an origami swan folded out of linen. “I am glad you are here, I was worried after what happened in Japan. Are you ok?” One thing she had admired Euphemia for since the beginning was her empathy, her ability to really actually feel with someone. Alone with that the young princess immensely helped her to calm down, arrange her thoughts and make her feel comfortable. “I am alright, thank you… I… just have some questions and you are the only one I can really talk to.” “Sit with me then, Aveline. Here, right next to me.” She pointed at the two rosy armchairs with huge backs that appeared to be very cozy and welcoming. Both took seat and after approving of the princess’ tea offer she began inertly:” Do you know anything about the relation between your sister and the emperor?” The young princess faltered almost impalpably but enough to not escape Avelines notice. “W-why do you ask?” Euphemia wanted to know while putting down the cup she had held, so the treasonous tremor in her fingers would not reveal how much the truth, this terrible awareness she carried, was burdening her. “Well, because….” And she started talking about what she had seen the night she had followed Cornelia, what the emperor had said and everything that had happened between them. The last word escaped her lips and the chamber was filled with deep silence. The secretary had avoided to look her opponent into the eyes while she was talking(for she was terribly ashamed of some things she had said) but when she raised her view she now could see that the younger sister had started shivering, her fragile fingers clutched the cup so tightly that one could see the whites of her knuckles. “Euphemia?” There was no reaction. Aveline was on alert, jumped off her chair and hunkered down in front of the other armchair, eager to find out what was going on. The princess’ big purple-blue eyes were filled with tears that started to roll around when she lifted her head to encounter the secretary’s look. “I am sorry.” She sobbed a few times heart-meltingly but then washed away the water in her face and cleared her throat. “Our father… the Emperor had always lived at Pendragon, it is some sort of his very own palace, his women or children do not live there with him. Some of his children were allowed to study and get their education there though if they had a certain age. The summer I turned eight I was apparently old enough to join my father at Pendragon. Cornelia had been there for some time back then and I remember how happy I felt when I saw her again.” She paused for a moment, a little smile adorning her lips. “She had become strong and determined but she had also changed. Don’t understand me wrong, Cornelia still watched out for me and was as loving and caring as before when we had been together. But…she became somehow withdrawn…We spoke about old times but when it came to topics like her education, our father or Pendragon she immediately fell silent, wouldn’t say anything further. At first I did not know and I was not supposed to either… but one night, the heavy rain and thunder had awoken me, I was very afraid and sought shelter. I was on the way to my sister’s room although the children were not allowed to wander the corridors after sunset. But you have to understand, I was only eight years old, I was filled with fear and the constant loneliness that accompanied me was such a burden…it was too much to bear…” The trembling that had stopped only a moment ago yet again began to run through Euphemias body, her voice shivered when she continued:” The door to my sisters room was ajar, I could hear my father’s harsh voice and when I watched through the small gap, I … he…he had seized her by her throat and hissed words in a low voice, words of terror… she was so pale… and she tried.. She…” A crying fit overwhelmed her, only sobbing emerged from her lips. Aveline felt so much compassion, what horrible things had this young girl seen? She then took her into her arms, stroke gently over the long pinkish hair hanging along her back and whispered solacing phrases until the princess finally stopped crying, breathed deeply. “Cornelia tried to look firm, to be brave and her will unbreakable but I could see… I could see the terror inside her eyes, the fear minimally distorting her lips, the nervous twitches along her beautiful face…Father hit Cornelia over and over again until her nose bled, until her skin had turned blue and violet and partly even black..! Oh god, how could he…?” Euphemia seemed to undergo the situation anew, she looked so confused, sad and vulnerable, the secretary had the urge to consistently hold and solace her. “T-then… he… he… he started talking about me… while still having her in his tight grasp… I was now old enough he said… that he would … do with me what he had done so often with her…I remember that I did not understand, could not get behind the sense of his words…” “Euphemia…I am so…” Aveline was deeply moved, she was close to burst out into tears herself. “But Cornelia…. She objected, she screamed, cried, begged him to leave me alone, to take her instead of me, she offered him all she had to give....” Her voice was filled with sadness but also with reverence and admiration for her own sister, but when she proceeded it now had a bitter, harried undertone. “Father couldn’t refuse… My sister’s offer assured him of her eternal fear for him, her scarred body, unquestioned loyalty and what is worst… her undying soul…that is the reason why she is like she is…She is not a bad person, Aveline, she never was…” The subordinate, who had held the princesses’ hands throughout the whole time, plopped back onto her bum, her eyes wide open. There was so much going on inside her, not in her mind but in her heart. Where she had only felt denial and hatred towards the viceroy of Area 18 there was now nothing but sympathy and admiration for her selflessness. What kind of a life had she lived until now? How terrifying must it have been, constantly living in fear that her own father would come and have a go at her. All that to protect what she loves most. “She believes that I do not know what happened that night and all the years that followed and I am glad she does not…It would burden her even more.” “I understand. And I am very sorry for what happened to both her and you…I cannot imagine how it must be...” A quietness occurred where both females tangled up to the past, with mixed emotions and lowered heads, thinking about what could have been, what actions could have been taken and which words should never have been said. “But how does it come that Cornelia was so vicious especially towards me? I haven’t done anything, quite the contrary…” The sigh that came over Euphemias lips sounded heavy, she simultaneously shook her head in bewilderment. “Strangely enough, my sister thinks of our brother Schneizel as a saint. Believes that his interest lies in the well-being of others.” “Is she so wrong with that?” The women’s eyes met, the one holding an interest, almost curious look, while the other ones expression was a mixture between bitterness and disquiet. “I told you before that my brother is no kind man, nor will he ever be.” “But how is it then that he is kind to everyone? He can’t just deceive everybody around him, that’s just…” “He can…He does! He is a liar, a betrayer, a deceiver! And in addition, he is also Daddy’s little number one. Just a single word and our father granted him everything! But instead of doing good things… if he… if he would have asked father to stop…to end this violent games he played with my sister… he would have done it! He would have stopped!” Euphemias cheeks were fiery red from both anger and sadness, she had turned her gaze towards the rose colored carpet beneath her. “But he did not, of course not… he did the opposite…Schneizel encouraged Cornelia to resist the emperors fierceness, to stand firm against him and to be bold. That only made him angrier and his wrath hit her even harder…” Aveline had stood up and now looked at the young princess in disbelief and insult. “No, that is not true.. his Highness cares about his siblings as well as about his subordinates, I know that! He would never do such things!” “Oh wouldn’t he? How odd…. Because if that was the case, Kanon Maldini wouldn’t be dead!” Euphemia had jumped off her chair too and starred at her opponent. “W-what are you saying?!” “Kanon Maldini was not shot by an Eleven, he killed himself!” The last two words hung in the air between them, made everything heavier and slower, time, space, even the air itself. “Why would he do that?” Not more than a whisper came over the secretary’s lips, her face had turned pale. “Schneizel… abused him.. He is like father… I remember the bruises along Kanon’s body…Sometimes he even had some bones broken or severe bleeding wounds… As if that wasn’t enough my brother also raped him, over and over again, for a long time. Until Kanon couldn’t take it anymore and hung himself…” She felt awful, her stomach rebelled and Aveline staggered back a few steps. “No…no…” She slowly wavered towards the door, she couldn’t bear any more truth, if it was the truth at all. “Aveline, please, do under no circumstances succumb to his charm. Don’t accept his invitations or you will end like Kanon…” Those last words she heard crackled down on her and drove her out of the chamber into the corridor and further back into her own room, her thoughts running in circles aimlessly, giving her a terrible headache. Preposterous! Simply preposterous! Schneizel el Britannia was the kindest man Aveline had ever met, he was gentle, polite and indulgent, cared about his family and subordinates alike. If he had known about this precarious situation between his sister and the emperor he would intervened, he would have helped and protected her for sure, he would have done everything in his power to help her being safe! Yes, it had been terrible what had happened to both sisters but that was no reason for Euphemia to accuse her brother of complicity. Aveline was furious about this allegation, shocked about what the princess had told her and confused as well as afraid about what she should do. Prince Schneizel had invited her to his room after all and although she did not believe a single word of Euphemias lies, there was a teensy tiny voice inside her that hesitated. She shook her head to get rid of those illegitimate thoughts, Aveline would accommodate his demand and the night with his highness would going to be memorable. And she should be right, the following night indeed was unforgettable.   
The sun outside the great, arched windows had certainly never shone as beautiful and brilliant before when the next morning approached. The bed Aveline lay in was softer than her own, the dark blue sheets were made of finest velvet and laid on her skin light as air. The body in the other futon moved slightly, exhaled lowly and then there was silence again. Smallest particles danced in the sunlight’s beams that fell through the filmy glass of the window, one of it ended directly upon Avelines face. Normally she would smile about that, about the warmth that it would provide and the tingling but all the secretary could feel were tears burning behind her eyes and the black and violet bruises all over her body. She could feel every bone aching, her muscles tensioned from her failing attempts to resist, fight back and to escape. One didn’t even have to look closely to see the stains of her own blood looming on the blanket. It felt like her lower abdomen had been pierced with a sharp blade, leaving her inners burning and agonized, creating a sensation of nausea and malaise within her. The physical pain alone was terrible, was nearly unbearable but what was even worse was the anguish, the sorrow she sensed deep inside her soul. Shame, guilt, mixed with shock and the knowledge that Euphemia had been right with everything haunted, no worse, tortured her. Just…how…how could he? And how could she let him…? The first tear escaped her eye, wandered along the side of her face and was absorbed by the mellow mattress. All the terrible words, the gross whispers of the past night rambled restlessly in her head, drowned the other words, those determined to spend solace and comfort, to assure her that she would be alright. Countless tears followed when Aveline rose onto her feet, wrapped the blanket tightly around her trembling body that was laced with innumerable bruises and marks and took small paces towards the glassed door leading onto the wide balcony of the princes room. Cold air engulfed her and made her shiver almost instantly when she stepped out of the warm chamber but also cooled down her mind and helped her think straight. Euphemia was right, prince Schneizel was obviously not kind. Oh god, what things he had done… She did not want to remember, never again…How had Kanon Maldini been able to bear this treatment for such a long time? His suffering must have been beyond human understanding! Aveline leaned on the balustrade, watched down onto the courtyard, onto the servants who seemed to be so little from her point of view. Watched their emboss and how they scurried around aimlessly. Was she strong enough to bear it? And if, for how long? She turned and watched the sleeping prince through the crystal clear window. He looked so content, so satisfied and felicitous, it was adorable to see him like that. The secretary paused in the midst of that insane thought. What? She thought again. No, this could not be. There was no hate towards his highness, no blame, no anger! How…? With her eyes wide open she now stared down on the courtyard again, tried to not think about anything at all. Maybe she should go. Just escape this situation, this world. Why not jump? She tilted her head slightly and took her hands of the balustrade. Yes. Why not?


End file.
